


Where Ivy Grows

by poetfaery



Series: Kiss Of Frost [4]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, but it's really cute anyway, sorry this doesn't have any canon characters, the last season spirit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-05
Updated: 2013-07-05
Packaged: 2017-12-17 18:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/870512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetfaery/pseuds/poetfaery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Autumn finds something new while bringing her season to Ireland- the last season spirit?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where Ivy Grows

**Author's Note:**

> My friend and I have created a post-movie canon where there are three other seasonal spirits, each created a hundred years after the last, the final one being Autumn.  
> One of her powers is talking to animals and they all basically love her, which shows.

        I remember, from my fragile box of memories from Before, the way that you can sometimes meet a person and not long after feel like you’ve known them just short of forever.

        That’s how it happened with Ivy.           

 

        Ireland in the fall is my favorite place to be, hands down. The weather there is just like my home across the ocean, only slightly more temperate, and the countryside is absolutely gorgeous, all green rolling hills and farms and forests, and the gentle minds of the animals- the horses and dogs especially. The trees respond to me the same way they do at home, too- a tingle of warm familiarity at my touch and bright flurries of leaves combusting into fiery color all at once. I love it, I really do. But somehow, today, something is different.

        I have a visitor.

        A stranger, a friend, a kindred soul. I can feel the sense of her shooting like electricity through the trees, waking them from their near-dormancy. All I have to do is follow their eager system of roots, awake with the need to be near to this new person.

        And then, there she is.

        Long hair falls down her back and around her shoulders in earth-brown tumbles of curls and she hugs herself against my wind, shoulders bare in a white and yellow dress that appears to be completely made of flower petals. She’s pretty, with a straight nose, dark brows and eyelashes, and a smattering of freckles, and looks to be my age, at least physically. Her eyes are closed and I edge a little closer, careful not to startle her. When she opens her eyes- blue, like Jack’s, only more sky than ice- she jumps anyway, and looks at me with alarm, backing up and staring at her feet shyly as if another person coming into contact with her is a completely foreign concept.

        Well. I suppose for our kind, it is.

        I cock my head, looking her up and down (mostly up; people have an annoying habit of being taller than me). She just stands there, mute and shivering a little, curled around herself like a fallen leaf and looking like she might run at any moment. I quickly make sure I haven't shifted into anything lately that's stuck around. It wouldn't be the first time I've accidentally kept on fangs, feathers, or a tail.

        I move a little closer, a genuine smile lighting my words. “Hi! I haven’t seen you around before. What’s your name?”

        She lifts her head, blue eyes still round with alarm, and takes me in for a while, voice stolen away by whatever it is that would make a person shy of a 4’11” girl in a dress. Eventually, she answers. “Ivy,” she whispers, her voice a shiver of wind through the grass, clear but strangely accented. Her dark eyebrows arch as she meets my eyes, her voice the tiniest bit louder. “And you?”

        I shoot her a grin. “Pretty name,” I respond. “I’m Autumn.”

        A hesitant, sheepish smile crosses her face, and her eyelashes lower as she holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Autumn-”

        I throw caution to the wind and catch her around her narrow waist in a hug. “You, too!”

        She starts hyperventilating slightly, and for some reason this makes me laugh. I pull back and she lets out a breathy giggle and smiles at me, radiating sunlight. “Are you like me?” Her voice is soft and her accent unlike any I’ve heard before, almost British, with traces of Australian and sharp snaps of Italian.

        I nod and smile. “I’m the spirit of autumn.” I quirk my head to the side and take in her flower-petal dress with interest. “I’m guessing you’re spring?”

        She shrugs, uncertainty fluttering across her features. “I suppose so.”

        I nod again, more decisively this time. “Oh, you definitely are. I’ve never felt plants go so crazy for anyone before, the trees especially. Trust me, you’re in the right place.”

        The smile she gives me after that positively glows.

        I gesture her over to the base of the nearest tree ( I can feel it gloating from five feet away, I mean,  _honestly)_  and we sit. I gather up an armful of leaves and blow on them. They shimmer and change into a thick woolen blanket, warm against my ever-present kiss of frost. Ivy watches with outright amazement- perhaps her powers are different than mine? - and gives me a shy smile as I hand it to her, snuggling into it.

        “So,” I begin, “How long have you been around?”

        Her eyes drift to the sky and she looks a little sad. “Around two centuries.”

        My eyes widen and I pout. “Of course. I’m  _always_  the youngest.”

        She looks at me sideways, amusement shining in her eyes. “How old are you?”

        I sigh and relax against the trunk. “I’ve been a spirit for a year. It makes sense, I guess. Jack’s been around for a little over three hundred, and Apollo’s got a century on me.”

        Her eyes grow suddenly round with confusion and concentration, as if trying to remember a half-forgotten memory. “Jack and Apollo?”

        I nod, taking in her lost expression. “The Guardian of winter and the spirit of summer.” I lean forward a little, trying to catch her eye. “Have you found anyone else since you’ve been a spirit, Ivy? Cuz Jack was alone for almost three centuries, and…”

        She nods, and meets my gaze, eyes shining brightly with happiness. “Bunny.”

        I still. “You’ve been here for two hundred years… and the only person you’ve talked to that entire time… is  _Bunny?_ ” My laughter is suddenly uncontrollable and she just sits there watching, looking equal parts amused, confused and insulted. I place a hand over my chest and force myself to take deep breaths. “S-sorry,” I apologize, wiping my eyes. “It’s just a funny thought, that’s all. I never thought he was much for companionship.”

        She nods, that fond light now touching her smile. “I spend a lot of my time travelling, but I always make sure to help him with Easter. It’s almost a tradition with us now.”

        “But besides him, the only spirit you’ve met is me?”

        She looks faintly surprised. “Yes.” She shakes her head as if trying to clear it. “How many others are there?”

        I cock my head speculatively. “I don’t really know. There are some I’ve never met- like the Leprechaun and the Groundhog, I’m sure you’ve heard Bunny grouch about them- and others I’m sure I’ve never heard of. But besides us, I know seven others- Jack Frost, Apollo, Toothiana, North, Bunnymund, Sandman, and Pitch Black.” Despite my attempt to conceal the fondness in my voice on the first and last names, I’m sure she notices.

        “Jack Frost?” She looks at me knowingly, a smile blooming on her lips. “ _Dimmi._ ”

        I can feel myself blush. “It’s just a crush, is all.” I can feel my own lips curling up despite my words. I meet Ivy’s eyes and we giggle in unison. “But yeah, I mentioned Apollo, he’s a pretty boy. He acts like a jerk a lot of the time, but he’s really not.” I look up, considering. “Well. Not  _really._  Tooth is the Tooth Fairy- you might have heard of her. She has an army of  _adorable_  little fairies that help her collect children’s teeth. North is most commonly called ‘Santa’, so I guess you know what he does.”

        Ivy nods, eyes lighting up with childlike happiness. “ _Babbo Natale_.”

        I grin. “Exactly. He’s got yetis and elves working for him. Mostly the yetis, though. I guess you know really well about what Bunny does, so I’ll skip straight to Sandy. He’s a pretty cool guy. He can’t talk, I think because he doesn't want to wake anyone up, but he uses dream sand to make pictures and things. He’s the one who brings good dreams to children, all around the world. All of them except for Apollo are Guardians, meaning the Man in the Moon chose them to protect the children of the world. Get it?”

        She nods and gives me a penetrating look, voice hesitant. “And what about… Pitch Black?”

        I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Pitch is… complicated.” She looks intrigued, so I continue, albeit reluctantly. “He’s the Boogeyman. He controls darkness, fear, and nightmares. But he’s not…” I break off haltingly as I search for the words, rubbing the back of my neck. “He’s not a  _bad guy_ , per se, but… he’s had a hard time of it, and it made him bitter, and angry. He tried… he tried to destroy the Guardians, and engulf the world in darkness.” I say the last part in a rush, trying not to make it sound as bad as it was.

        Ivy’s eyes are wide and her breathing is staggered. I place a hand on her blanket-clad leg to reassure her. “He’s not quite so bad anymore, since he was defeated. He’s just…” My voice drops, and I speak in a strained whisper. “… _lonely_ , you know?”

        Her eyes meet mine and then drop. We both know.

        “I can introduce you, if you like.” I offer. “To any or all of them.” She starts looking panicked again and I quickly change the subject. “So, a century with Bunny, huh?”

        She nods with a small, fond smile. “He found me in Italy after a century of talking only to plants and animals, and taught me English.” An Italian-speaking girl learning English from an Australian bunny? That explained the accent, at least.

        “You can communicate with plants and animals, too?” I ask excitedly.

        She beams at me and leans forward. “Mostly plants, but a little bit with animals.” She gazes over my shoulder and smirks. “I think you must be the opposite, yeah?”

        I blink. “Yeah, but how-”

        She gestures behind me, laughter pulling at her eyes. A small group of woodland animals has gathered and is sitting, watching us. How I didn’t notice them, I have no idea. I smile fondly at the creatures- a mix of squirrels, chipmunks and birds, with a few predators thrown in- a handsome red fox and two wolves. All sit together peacefully, gazing at me. It’s equal parts sweet and creepy, to be honest. My smile falls as I put on a stern front. I shake my finger at the group of animals, scolding them. “Squirrels, you should be getting ready for hibernation. Same for you, chipmunks. And birds, I know at least half of you fly south for the winter. Don’t you know how far away that is? Go on, now.” They scamper off and the canines are the only animals that remain. I don’t have to say anything to the wolves- the beautiful creatures incline their heads slightly and lope off gracefully.

        Before I can turn my gaze on the fox, Ivy speaks to it in low, sweet Italian. “ _Sei un amico_?” The fox’s deep russet eyes widen and its tail sweeps back and forth gently as it nods slightly and meanders over to my side.

        I look up at Ivy, eyes wide. “What-?”

        She leans down to me with a smile. “ _Per te_. So you’ll never be lonely.”

        I blink and reach out to the creature gently. I snuggles its warm head against my palm and curls up next to me. I look at Ivy for a long moment, touched, then tilt my head back to study the canopy, singing a birdsong into the leaves above. After a pause, a bluebird wings its way down, landing delicately on Ivy’s blanketed leg. It hops around a bit and she stares at it, entranced. She lowers a long-fingered hand and the bird hops on, riding up and onto her shoulder, where it nuzzles into the crook of her neck and settles in for a nap.

        I look from my fox to Ivy’s bird and back to Ivy’s surprised expression, and a laugh bubbles its way free. After a moment, Ivy laughs giddily too. “What?” she asks.

        “I think we’re going to be very good friends.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> My friend Meg is actually the basis for Ivy, and she wrote a beautiful awakening fic for her. I've done as best as I can to explain Ivy's situation. If there's anything you'd like to know, please comment!


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